Emergent Literacy Scenario By Karen Buckley

Learning changes over time Learning Theories Conditioned Learning 1950-1965 Skinner believed that learning is not growth or development. (behaviorist perspective) Learning is acquired. Reading is broken down by isolated skills. Natural Learning 1966-1975 Chomsky believed that humans are programmed to acquire language under certain conditions. Learning is dependent on learner and innate capabilities . Informational Processing 1976-1985 Immanuel Kant How do students store knowledge? Learning is text based. Focus on prior knowledge and schema. (Alexander, 2004)

More Learning Theories Socio-cultural Learning 1986-1995 Knowledge has many forms. Sometimes ones own knowledge hurts future learning. Learning focused on the shared understanding of many people. Students interactions are important and the teacher should scaffold learning. Engaged Learning 1996-present Growing presence of hypermedia and hypertext and how it can motivate students. Students should participate towards completing a goal. The relationship between knowledge and interests is important.(Alexander, 2004)

What is Emergent Literacy? Marie Clay developed the phrase in 1966. Students come to school with language, reading, and writing skills. Teachers should accept children where they are functioning at and provide instruction based on their needs. Learning should be child centered. Emergent literacy aligns with the social constructivist approach because learning is a social process (Morrow, 2012)

Emergent Literacy Principles Literacy starts at birth Its important for parents to talk to their children and use rich vocabulary. Children pick up environmental print( the McDonalds sign) and language that their parents use. Children start reading when they move from the visual context and letter association which is tied to the alphabetic principle(Ruddell, 1994) More than just decoding Reading is a complex process where students need to know the syntax, semantics, pragmatics of language. Does it look right, sound right, and make sense? Syntax is the language structure. Semantics is the meaning behind words. Pragmatics is the way the context contributes to meaning.

Emergent Literacy Principles Language processes are connected Oral language, reading, and writing are connected. Its important for emergent readers to develop all processes. Children are actively involved According to the Engaged learning theory students should be surrounded by multiple texts and media. Learning should be child centered. Children need to construct make meaning of their worlds(Ruddell, 1994). Social context matters According to the Socio-cultural learning theory students learn from their peers and teacher scaffolding! Think about how important discussions and small group work is! Children from different backgrounds and communities have different reading routines For example in the African American community storytelling and verbal attention getting skills were important.(Ruddell, 1994)

Emergent Literacy vs. Reading Readiness Reading Readiness developed around 1925 when Arnold Gesell advocated for maturation as the most important factor in learning to read. Then reading readiness became popular and educators focused on nurturing skills-auditory and visual discrimination, visual and large motor skills (Morrow, 2012) Today we know that emergent learners are developing at birth. Educators work on developing oral language, reading, and writing skills.

Kindergarten Phonemic Awareness & Phonics What it looks like: Teachers create alphabet books. Focus on alphabetic principle. Try Adding: Teachers should think about teaching letters and sounds starting with common initial consonants f,m , s, t, h Then teaching short vowels, next long vowels , r controlled vowels, and digraphs. During read alouds teach phonics through rhyming words and word families in the book. Small group lessons that work on blending syllables.

Kindergarten Writing Practices What it looks like: Our teachers have students write in journals. Try Adding: Incorporating word walls into writing by having students use words from the wall to create a story. Have writing conferences to teach mini lessons with spelling or sentence structure errors. Really important for kindergarten students to be able to read/retell what they write. If they can’t read yet…students usually have an easier time with reading their own language.

Kindergarten Oral Language/Fluency Practices What it looks like: Our teachers have students participate in dramatic play. Try Adding: Adding puppets from stories to guide dramatic play so they can make connections to read alouds. Readers’ theatre helps engage students in fluency practice. When modeling read alouds, set the purpose for the read aloud and focus on vocabulary development. Have students share their work in front of the class to develop public speaking skills. Sing songs to develop alphabetic principle.

Kindergarten Vocabulary Practices What it looks like: Teachers teach vocabulary through read alouds Try Adding: Language learning experience….go on a field trip/experiment and then write and read about where your going/what your doing. Have students create their own dictionary and use it for writing. Thematic units help to develop vocabulary words around a topic. Model expressive language when reading so they learn concept of print.

Kindergarten Comprehension Practices What this looks like: Teachers modeling to many strategies at once Try Adding: First model reading strategies, then have students try out the strategy in centers, and then give them independent practice . Use repeated read aloud books to show different strategies. Use lots of scaffolding in order for students to build schema.

Foster Motivation Taboada (2007) shows us that there are 5 types of motivation: interest, mastery goals, control and choice, social interaction, self efficacy. Social Interaction-When students come together and share they build upon their understanding! Think Pair Share activity would foster social interaction. Have students create collaborative projects. Control and Choice – Provide choices during center time. For example create a choice board where students have to pick which activity they will participate during centers. Use computer time to motivate and engage students.

Building an Engaging Classroom How can the teacher help facilitate engagement? Have daily experiences for children to be read to and create a literacy rich environment. Create a balanced instructional program with reading and writing activities and create time for students to talk about their assignments. Expose children to multiple genres. Students love poetry! Engage children in shared writing by pausing before you write a word to stretch it out. Provide students with many activities to read, write, play, and listen to another in order for them to develop as emergent readers! Build a student’s sight word vocabulary and practice segmenting, blending, and sounding out whole words(NAEYC, 1998).

Engaging Classroom Continued Role of the Student Children need to experiment with reading and writing. Practice retelling stories. Show understanding of letter-sound matches. Practice reading left to right. Try writing letters and high frequency words. Practice reading independently from books of their choice (NAEYC, 1998).

First Language and Second Language Acquisition First Language Acquisition Students need to continue to develop their first language in order to grow in their second language. Second Language Acquisition As students are developing their second language encourage them to practice their first language at home and with their family.

Support Diversity and ELLs! Incorporate songs and chants during phonics. Its important for students to create books in their first language in order to show them that their first language is valued. Continue to help their first language develop…maybe they can add Spanish words to the word wall. Don’t correct students on the spot all the time…create mini lessons. Assign an ELL a buddy to promote collaboration between students.

ELL Support Continued Extensive vocabulary instruction for ELL is necessary! Identify 5 key words for thematic units Ex –family: mother, father, brother, home, work Speak slowly and paraphrase when necessary. Explain idioms and figurative language during reading. Keep including ELL even in the silent period. Use the Modified Guided Reading Approach: which includes detailed vocabulary instruction, L2 Text structure, Targeted CALP instruction, Cultural relevance, and reading listening speaking writing.

References Alexander, P. A., & Fox, E. (2004). A historical perspective on reading research and practice. In R. B. Ruddell & N. J. Unrau (Eds.). Theoretical models and processes in reading (5th edition) (pp. 33-68). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Avalos, M. A., Plasencia, A., Chavez, C., & Rason, J. (2007). Modified guided reading: Gateway to English as a second language and literacy. The Reading Teacher, 61, 318-329. Morrow, L. M. (2009). Literacy development in the early years: Helping children read and write. Sixth Edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. National Association for the Education of Young Children (1998). Learning to read and write: Developmentally appropriate practices for young children. A joint position statement of the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Young children, 30-46. Ruddell, R. B., & Ruddell, M. R. (1994). Language acquisition and literacy processes. In R. B. Ruddell, M. R. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.). Theoretical models and processes in reading (4th edition) (pp. 83-103). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Taboada, A., Guthrie, J.T., & McRae, A. (2007) Building engaging classrooms. In R. Fink & J. Samuels (Eds.), Inspiring Reading Success (pp. 141-166). International Reading Association.